First-year Medical Students Welcomed to Campus with Heartwarming Surprise

The culture of community and mentorship at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix is an enduring commitment that spans all aspects of the college. Applicants to the medical school repeatedly reference the warm welcome that made them feel at home. This sense of belonging is one of the reasons they choose to attend the U of A College of Medicine – Phoenix for their medical school training.   

The COVID-19 pandemic made virtual learning and limited in-person instruction standard practice for students of all ages — as was the case for the Class of 2024, who began their medical education journey in the middle of it in July 2020. The Class of 2024 experienced a drastically different first year of medical instruction than previous cohorts. Walking the halls, attending in-person lectures, and mingling with classmates and faculty in an academic setting virtually disappeared.

Majd Aboona, Class of 2023, chapter president of the American Medical Association, noticed the need to welcome the first-year students who had been affected by pandemic protocols. The impact of the campus culture struck a chord within Aboona from the start of his medical school journey, and this pushed him to embark on a creative project of his own to connect the newest class to the revered campus culture.

“I was in your shoes last year, and I know how hard it is in general to go through medical school; but it’s even harder online,” said Aboona. “I can’t even imagine starting medical school online.”

With this in mind, Aboona applied for grant funding from the American Medical Association and was successful in being awarded a $500 grant by the national organization. The grant funding made it possible for Aboona to assemble goodie bags to disseminate to first-year students as they arrived on campus for the first time.

Aboona reached out to senior leaders at the college to determine an ideal time to welcome the incoming class and implement his passion project. Over the course of two days in early April, Aboona surprised the Class of 2024 with a popup table that included heartwarming — yet face-masked — smiles and colorful bags with snacks and an on-campus guide inside.

“As our leadership team learned of Majd’s request to support the incoming class, we were blown away by the gesture, but not surprised, as we know the person. Majd encompasses everything we seek in a medical school student. First and foremost, he is altruistic — a selfless giver that is already having a profound effect on our medical community. I know he had an impact over those two days for each of our Class of 2024 members,” said Glen Fogerty, PhD, MBA, associate dean of Admissions and Recruitment.

The contents of the goodie bags included snacks of all kinds — like candy, chips and popcorn. Aboona noted that the assemblage is the perfect hodgepodge of treats for when a student plants themself in a study room for hours. In addition, he emphasized the need to destress during an hours-long study session by incorporating a stress ball for students to utilize when a study break is needed.

An on-campus, one-sheet resource guide was also included in the goodie bag. The guide contains phone numbers and email addresses for key staff members, locations of ideal study spots on campus, as well as tips and tricks to make campus life easier — such as where to get free coffee and candy and how to replace a lost student ID badge.

Aboona was successful in his intention to surprise the incoming class. One first-year student excitedly shared, “It was the sweetest thing! This past year has been hard on all of us, so to see Majd put the extra time and effort into making goodie bags to officially welcome all of us to campus was a really touching gesture,” said Avery Williams, Class of 2024.

“Doing the goodie bag project is in alliance with our culture at the school. It’s something small, but it’s the thought,” concluded Aboona.